When is car maintenance a luxury?

[humandraydel]

I know this sounds a bit odd, but would you ever consider car maintenance a luxury? For example, a few months ago I bought a 2003 Honda Element with 85k miles. In the first few months I changed all fluids myself (and obviously saved a lot of money). Now, I'm considering doing a LOT of preventative maintenance (by myself again) - things like new brakes, rotors, and suspension all around. It's probably $1500 if I paid a shop and I'll pay $800 for parts. However, even with the savings, I'm having trouble justifying it. Obviously the brakes I NEED to do, but the rotors and suspension probably don't have to be done -a fter all, a lot of people drive around with poor suspensions.

...or maybe I'm just that much of a tightwad?

[disneysteve]

Great question. Until June, we owned 2 old cars, a 1998 and a 2000. We replaced the 98 with an 06 so still 2 older cars. This is a question I often ask myself.

I don't do my own service so when the mechanic recommends something, the question I always ask is if the repair he is telling me about affects the operation of the vehicle or is safety-sensitive in any way. If something squeaks and he wants to fix what's causing the squeak but leaving it as is will not harm anything and it will just keep squeaking, I'm prone to let it squeak.

Right now, on our 2000 Sienna, there are two dashboard warning lights on not because anything is actually wrong with the car but because the sensors controlling those lights have failed. I'm not spending a penny to replace those sensors because they have absolutely no affect on the car. One of the lights has been on for a couple of years now. I'd say fixing those items would definitely be a luxury.

So do the work that is necessary for the vehicle to operate safely and efficiently. Skip the work that is cosmetic or related to creature comfort, unless you don't like dealing with the issue that results.

[greenskeeper]

what state do you live in humandraydel?

Some states have safety inspections, some don't.

I do all my own maintenance and unless it is going to prevent problems in the near term, I only repair what is needed.

Timely oil changes are the best way to keep a car for a long, long time. Follow your owners manual for other maintenance items too.

As far as the suspension, if you have under 100k on the car it shouldn't need attention, unless you drive on crappy roads most of the time.

[sandrark]

To me, the cut off is - if it's going to degrade the performance of the car, I fix it.

I think the distinction you're looking for is ROUTINE maintenance, or PREVENTATIVE maintenance.

I would absolutely do brake line flushes, pad replacement, rotor replacement, oil & filter and fluid changes, fuel and air filter replacement, wiper replacement, radiator flushes, water pump replacement, and timing belt replacement - a mix of routine and preventative.

I probably wouldn't do shocks or other suspension items unless there's an issue that leads to premature wearing of the tires, or creates a handling hazard.

In your case, if the pads and rotors are within acceptable safety and wear limits, I'd wait (and note that if your car is FWD, you'll do front brakes 2-3x more often than back brakes). I also wouldn't mess with the suspension if there are no obvious issues with handling or alignment.

Instead, I'd encourage you to start setting aside $$ for the timing belt and water pump replacement - typically due on those cars between 90k and 120K miles. If you have an interference engine, and the belt breaks, you've just toasted your engine....

[humandraydel]

what state do you live in humandraydel?

Some states have safety inspections, some don't.
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As far as the suspension, if you have under 100k on the car it shouldn't need attention, unless you drive on crappy roads most of the time.

I live in NC and we do have safety inspections. The car has 93k miles and the struts are known to go out on these cars as early as 50k miles. Mine do not appear to be leaking, but the ride is kind of bumpy and it would be easier to replace multiple parts at once.

[Paul Kim]

I do my own car maintenance as well. I would change the pads rotors and fluids. Rotors are cheap enough that you might as well if they are the originals.

The suspension should only be changed if something is wrong with it, no reason to preemptively pay for that as original parts can last a long time, especially on a average joe commuter car. When changing the brakes just inspect all the rubber components looking for cracking or tears and replace those if necessary. I had a 100k+ accord and all it has need is fluid changes, tires, brakes in all that time.

[JoeP]

Certain suspension issues should be addressed if you have metal on metal. I had a clunking sound that turned out to be a failed bushing. The fix performed by my shade tree mechanic friend prevented wear on the metal parts, so I would consider this to be necessary.

Some convenience items end up becoming annoyances. For example, my cabin blower motor only worked on speeds 3,4,5. Oh, and OFF worked very well. But even at speed 3, the noise was very bothersome. When local junk yards told me they don't sell that part, I dropped the $30 to get a replacement resistor pack and replaced it myself. Now the car is enjoyable again.

Without car payments, you can divert a small amount of your pay into a "Car Maintenance" bank account. We do this with other expenses and it works well: when an expense comes up, the money will be there (or you can tap into your EF if there is not enough).

[bjl584]

I do all of my own work on my car. I do routine maintenance like oil changes plus any mechanical repairs that need done like brakes and rotors.

Sometimes things are unnecessary. Something like repainting an old vehicle would definitely be a luxury. Also, something like buying the $20 spark plugs when the $5 ones will work just fine is a luxury in my mind.

So, I keep up on my car but I don't go overboard with things. My cars have always run just fine as a result.

[disneysteve]

Also, something like buying the $20 spark plugs when the $5 ones will work just fine is a luxury in my mind.

Also, consider the age of the car and how long you intend to keep it. I might put better quality tires on a car with 50K miles than I would on a car with 150K miles.

[JoeP]

Also, consider the age of the car and how long you intend to keep it. I might put better quality tires on a car with 50K miles than I would on a car with 150K miles.

I see where you're going with this, but when it comes to tires, I want the car to stop and turn...regardless of the age or how long I intend to keep it. For this reason, I normally buy mid-grade or higher tires for all my cars. What turns out to be maybe an extra $200 is money well spent IMHO, because you may be able to avoid a collision or other damage, and all the headaches and expenses associated with those.

Another option (which I did on my wife's previous car) is to purchase mounted snow tires. These provided excellent control in the winter, and were able to be sold separately from the car. For these benefits, I'd put snows on a car of ANY age/condition.

One thing I may do with my current 2001 car is upgrade the stereo to something that accepts a thumb drive or mp3 player. This will give us more modern functionality. But that's probably about it as far as upgrades!